NASCAR

Talladega Race Preview

Granite Stripe (2013, Ep. 34): Talladega

DescriptionJonathan and Gavin recap Brad Keselowski's win at Charlotte and do their best to pick drivers at the wild card that is Talladega.

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The Granite Stripe knows that the wildness of Talladega will go a long way toward determining this year's Sprint Cup champion. Check out this week's blogs along with the broadcast and podcast, and watch the race on ESPN at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

After PRN's Highlights from Charlotte, Jonathan and Gavin discuss Keselowski's win, breakdown Cup contenders, and pick drivers for Talladega. They wrap by discussing the season premiere of The Walking Dead.

As last fall's 25-car pileup on the final lap proved, it really doesn't matter how you do over the course of the first 187 laps of the 188-lap race. You can lead every lap or you can bumble along in the back of the pack, there's no guarantee where you'll be when the checkered flag flies nor whether your car will even be in good enough shape to cross that start/finish line.

1. Jimmie Johnson - Five-Time is doing exactly what makes him so good at this time of year. Johnson's consistency is just sickening, as his fourth-place finish at Charlotte on Saturday night gave him his fourth top-five in the first five races and maintains his 4.0 average finishing position during that stretch. They don't call him Superman for nothing.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup has run five races, which means that there are five more to go before the Sprint Cup champion is crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It also means that about half of the Chase drivers have at some point or another been unofficially eliminated from the Chase.